Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-05-10
4. con1emner of wise saws.


A Coutemner of wise saws.
OF aiore,ime wise man exclaimed;
.sOh, that mine enemy would write a
book The Hon. James G. Blaine,
of M aine, does not seem AFRAID TO
challenge the iorce of this aphorlsm'
With an utter disregard OF the dam
age that book writing might do him,
he launched upon the public ms
s.Tw enty Years of Congress" and 1t
must be admitted that, as a literary
venture pure and simple, it was a
good deal oi success. But he seems
10 be inspired with the spirit OF AJAX
defyi pg the l.ghtnings. and a second
time he has courted his Nemesis by
preparing book of $40 pages which
conta ins his speeches in Congress
and a numbe OF his State papers,
written while he was Garfield's Sec
re tary of State. Although we have
not seen this latter work, we are in
clined to think that this time tlle
Maine politician has, figuratlvely
spe aking. thrown his fat into the fire,
With his customary audacity, he has
invited an inspection Of a public
car eer signally barren OF any achieve
m entsssof craftsmanship, although his
frie nds may claim thatit is not de-
void OF the meretricious attributes
which attach to an eloquent, bold
an d unscrupulous intriguer.
The first thing that will be made
plain to the unprejudiced reader OF
this book is that, for man OF his
great standing in great national
party, Mr.. Blaine has done absolute
ly nothing TO give his name any en-
during hold upon the times. In GER
tain qualities of personal magnetism
and popular oratory he has been
often compared to Henry Clay. His
fir lends might well deprecate such
co mparisons as "odorous" in the
language of Mrs. Malaprop. The
Kentucky statesman was identified
in a commanding way with many
issues which will make him Il leading
Fl igure in any OF the histories which
sh all at any time endeavcr to give a
co rect idea of the course OF events
in his country. While he was not
the author of the doctrine of tariff
for revenue with incidental protec-
ton TO American industry-a doc
tr inc OF Democratic origin-he was
the Father OF that downright protec-
ito for projections sake that is so
dear to the heart of Mr.. Blaine and
the Republican party. That gentle
man, therefore, is merely dealer in
second hand goods. He certainly
cannot claim to be the "Original
Jacobs" as to question which was
not new when he was born.
AS 10 the war, Mr.. Blaine can GER
tainly claim no special distinction on
that head. He would be obliged to
found it on his rifle contracts and
his prudent hiring of substitute.
As to all the phases OF that exciting
epoch he was SO absolutely over
shadowed by myriads OF his fellow
Republicans that it is a case OF
Eclipse first and Blaine nowhere.
The same may be said OF the yindict-
i've reconstruction measures follow
ing the war. While perhaps as Bit
ter as any OF them, he was but a
persimmon to the huckleberry beside
the commanding figures Of Thadeus
Stevens and Ben Wade.
The most diligent student OF Mr..
Blaine's career finds him identified
in a conspicuous way with only one
thing that might have eflloresced
into something distinctive, and he de-
veloped this phase OF his career while
he was in control OF the State Depart
ment. He started out on a course
which would probably have embroiled
the United States in war with half a
dozen powers. He undertook to
convene Congress OF the Central
and South American powers, to be
assembled at Washington under a
sort OF tuteIage OF the United States.
As these Republics declined to come
his effort was quite abortive. Heun
dertook to dictate to Chile in her war
with Peru, and that power told him
peremptorily to mind his own busi-
ness. A president Of Blaine's own
party was obliged to call halt to
this hazardous policy, and to inti-
mate in polite but courteous terms
that his room was preferable to his
company.
Mr.. Blsine's present literary VEN
ture cannot fail TO revive the public